蜜芽传媒

SUNDAY WORSHIP

IN THE STEPS OF POPES AND PILGRIMS

Fr Chris Gorton

Good morning. I'm Father Chris Gorton, and I'm here in Rome with half a million young Catholics from right across the globe, as they celebrate the Jubilee of Youth. I'm joining young people from Salford Diocese as they make their pilgrimage to some of Rome's 听holiest sites and engage spiritually with their faith. They'll be looking at the legacy of Pope Francis and talking about their hopes for Pope Leo. We'll also be passing through some of the 鈥淧orte Sante鈥�, the Holy Doors opened by Pope Francis to begin this Holy Year. The Year of Jubilee is a year of forgiveness and reconciliation. Above all, it's a year of hope, and we find the light of hope radiating in our first hymn.

MUSIC

LONGING FOR LIGHT WE WAIT IN DARKNESS (CHRIST BE OUR LIGHT)

BERNADETTE FARRELL

CHOIRS OF THE DIOCESE OF LEEDS

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Fr Chris Gorton

We've come to Palazzola which overlooks Lake Albano. As I look out I can see Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence for the Pope. As I look to the right I can see the huge expanse of Rome itself. But here we're taking a step back. We've got the privilege of staying in what was once a Roman villa. And from the 13th century and the Cistercians were here and then the English College bought this place as a summer residence in 1920. It's a wonderful opportunity for all of us to take a step back from the busyness and be able to reflect and think about all that's happening as we make this pilgrimage together.

Joseph

My name is Joseph and I'm 20. I decided to go on this pilgrimage because I've never been on one before and I thought it would be a good experience to strengthen my relationship with God and to learn things about the faith and myself and have a chang in attitude with the faith.

Veronique

My name is Veronique and I decided to come on this pilgrimage because I've never been to Italy and I thought this is a really good opportunity to come. I hope to get an experience that I've not had before because I've been on pilgrimages before, so I'm hoping to get closer to God on this one as well.

Ehi

My name is Ehi and I came on this pilgrimage because I thought that in this Jubilee Year it was a good opportunity, if I could to come to Rome, the centre of the Church. I hope to get out of this week a lot of time to spend with God and just a week where that which should be my focus is just my focus for the whole week.

Ashley

My name is Ashley and I'm 22. Personally, I'll be honest. I've been so excited since e I packed, since we got to the airport, I've been, I've been on cloud ten. It's been incredible so far. I'm really excited.

Prayer

Loving God, you have called us to be your hands and feet in the world. To love our neighbour as ourselves, to serve as you served, and to carry your light into places of darkness.

Fill our hearts with the compassion and courage to use our gifts and talents in service of your pilgrim church to hear and respond generously to your unique mission. For each of us, even when we do not know the road ahead. May our lives speak of your justice, mercy and love as we seek to build bridges of peace and unity in our world today.

听Amen.

MUSIC

MAKE ME A CHANNEL OF YOUR PEACE

SEBASTIAN TEMPLE

GERALDINE LATTY

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Reading

A reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7.

Ask and it will be given you, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Fr Chris Gorton

I'm here with the young people now from Salford Diocese. There's huge crowds from all over the world gathering to go through the Holy Door here at Saint Mary Major's. To begin the Holy Year Pope Francis opened five Holy Doors around Rome. The history goes back to the beginning of the 13th century, when the people of Rome wanted to do something significant for the new century, so the Pope at the time brought the tradition in of a Holy Door. People come on pilgrimage to Rome to walk through these Holy Doors and receive graces and blessings. We have 5 Holy Doors this year here at Saint Mary Major's, at Saint Peters at Saint John Lateran and at Saint Paul's Outside the Walls. And then this year in Rebibbia 鈥� a prison in the centre of Rome.

Ehi

Walking through the Holy Door, I remember walking through one actually a few years ago, but 听I've grown up a bit and then a bit more understanding of the indulgence and the graces that we're about to receive, and I'll be thinking about the prayers and the intentions that I want to offer to the Lord, but also how I'm going to serve him and when I receive his graces, just to spend time with him, let him speak to me and see where that brings me with my faith today.

Fr Chris Gorton

Now we have the opportunity to go through this Holy Door, bringing our own intentions, and you can see marked on the brass that's worn away as pilgrims pray and physically touch the door as a way of praying, showing their prayer to God as you go through these doors.

(MUSIC SUNG BY PILGRIMS AT SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE)

We've just been through the Holy Door here at Saint Mary Major鈥檚 and and one of the pilgrims asked why do we go through a Holy Door? Well, Jesus himself said in John Chapter 10. I am the door. I am on the way and he said I am the way the truth and the life. So these Holy Doors are an invitation for us to enter more deeply. Into our relationship with God.

Ehi

I was thinking of the people that couldn't be here for various reasons, being sick, being away and those who have passed as well and remembering them and praying for them that they make it into heaven to be with God.

Joseph

It felt so comforting to know how many people were going through the same thing that I was going through in their own different ways.

Fr Chris Gorton

We're here in Saint Mary Major's, which is the oldest church dedicated to Mary in the West. It鈥檚 said that this spot was chosen because snow fell at an unusual time in Rome, and that was a sign of this is where this church will be built. So for the last 15 centuries, people have gathered here to remember and praying for the intercession of Our Lady. It's here that Pope Francis, the day after he was chosen to be Pope, came to lay flowers at the image of Our Lady. And whenever he went on a journey, on a pilgrimage or a visit to another country, he would come here first. This church had a very special place in the heart of Pope Francis and that's probably why he chose to be buried here. We've just had the privilege to come and pray at the tomb; a very simple tomb. It simply had his name, Francisco, which represents the way that he would view himself in relation to his faith and to his people and his devotion to God.

Ashley

I really loved Pope Francis's way that he wanted to integrate modern society and find a way, especially for the youth, to couple and merge your secular life and your religious life so that it's just one life.

Ehi

I read over some of Pope Francis's speech from World Youth Day two years ago, and he talked about how the Church is for 鈥淎ll, all, all鈥� and he said that God just wants us to be with him and those were things that stuck with me.

Joseph

I feel quite honoured to be that close to him. Obviously he's not with us anymore, but听 he's kind of a celeb. It's just like he's just a man, but he's the man of God. And I felt honoured to be that close to the place that he was buried.

MUSIC

UBI CARITAS

MAURICE DURUFL脡

THE CAMBRIDGE SINGERS

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Prayer

Heavenly Father, as we make our journey through this Holy Year of Jubilee, we pray for the grace to walk with one another, helping each other encounter the risen Christ that brings light to those in darkness. May we be strengthened in faith rekindled in hope and governed by love, transforming us into true pilgrims of hope, journeying ever closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

Fr Chris Gorton

Leading our pilgrimage is our Bishop, Bishop John Arnold.

Bishop John Arnold

In the history of our faith, pilgrimages have always been important. For centuries, the main challenge of the pilgrimage was the journey itself to the Holy Place, always full of uncertainty, of finding the route and the necessary accommodation along the way, and often travelling through unsafe, unknown lands, being the potential target of thieves and criminals.

A pilgrimage to say the Holy Land could take months. Now, with modern transport and communication, the journey is usually easily planned with travel agents and quickly completed, and the pilgrims spend most of the pilgrimage time in the Holy Place itself. But there is a real purpose in the modern way of pilgrimage and an importance in having the time to be away from the rush of our usual routines and time to concentrate on the place of faith in our lives and its impact on the way we live each day.

The pilgrimage to Rome in this Jubilee Year of Hope is a wonderful opportunity for the young people to engage with the history of the city, to learn of its many saints and to be in the presence of the Pope, and to receive his encouragement. Passing through the Holy Doors at Saint Peter鈥檚 and Mary Major's gives the pilgrims a visible expression of a determination to grow in faith. And the Mass at the tomb of Saint Peter connects us all with the apostles and their own pilgrimage of learning about Christ and growing in their belief in him. And there is great encouragement in meeting of young people from all over the world. Seemingly a million of them have come to Rome for the gathering from at least 146 different countries.

The sadness of the death of Pope Francis and the speedy election of Pope Leo has brought a particular significance to this Jubilee Year. Pope Francis named it as a Jubilee Year of Hope, with the purpose of renewing hope in the face of challenges that face our world. Pope Leo has continued to emphasise our hope. From his first appearance as Pope, on the balcony of Saint Peters Basilica, just an hour or two after his election, we have heard Pope Leo speaking of his own priorities for the church and his ministry, and they represent a clear continuity of the mission of Pope Francis. Pope Leo speaks of the importance of peace and the role of young people in building peace. Peace will provide us with the platform on which we can tackle poverty, force migration, conflict.

As Pope Francis would insist, each and every one of us has our part to play, Pope Leo continues the appeal for the need to care for our common home and repair the damage of climate change. In this, Pope Leo is leading by example in making the Vatican State the most likely first carbon zero state in the world and the development of the Laudato Sea Gardens at Castel Gandolfo. Important agreements have already been reached about providing the sufficient solar energy for the Vatican.

Pope Leo has also demonstrated the same priority of welcome and engagement with other Christians and people of other faiths. Concentrating on celebrating what we believe in common building bridges, not walls. And he has spoken about building unity and that sense of being together in faith in a unity that does not mean uniformity, that we should all be the same, but in a unity that recognises the great diversity of people working together with their different gifts.

Pope Leo is both encouraging us and challenging us to live gospel values in today's world, where every one of us can make a difference. We renew our commitment in faith in this Jubilee Year of Hope.

MUSIC

BROTHER, SISTER, LET ME SERVE YOU

RICHARD GILLARD

THE NORTHUMBRIA COMMUNITY

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Reading

A reading from the Gospel of John, Chapter 10.

鈥淰ery truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheep fold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes ahead of them and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.鈥�

Jesus used his figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again, Jesus said to them, very truly I tell you, 鈥淚 am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find a pasture.鈥�

Fr Chris Gorton

Now we're at Saint Peter鈥檚 Square, the Vatican, the central heart of our faith. This square is surrounded by the very famous colonnade that shows people being embraced from all around the world by the arms of Mother Church. As I look around the square, I can see groups with flags from all around the world. There's shouting, there's greetings, there's a real sense of excitement. This square was the focus of the eyes of the world back in May as Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected Pope, becoming Leo XIV.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF CARDINAL PREVOST AS POPE LEO XIV

Fr Chris Gorton

He had a special message for young people, he said 鈥淭o young people, I say, do not be afraid, accept the invitation of the Church and Christ the Lord.鈥�

Ashley

For me personally, when it comes to hopefully I was talking about accepting the invitation, I do think that's really important, especially because I think a lot of people think, especially when it comes to the Catholic Church, that the church is dying and the faith is dying. And so, when it comes to the youth and he's saying no, do accept the invitation like when you are called like not to sort of be scared about what society thinks and to know that you have the backing of God and who else could you want the backing from when you really think about it?

Veronique

The request to come on this pilgrimage was an invitation and it was something that I had to kind of make a decision as to whether or not I was going to do and I think, having that echoing in the back of my mind to accept that and to kind of make the decision to come, I think that definitely helped with that decision.

Joseph

I was quite surprised, obviously, when they named it was the Pope. Obviously, we had just lost our previous one, but I think he's a very good influence on connection with multiple people. Obviously, he's an American. I think it's very good for him to be sort of a younger Pope as well. I can spread that around to all the young people in this Jubilee.

MUSIC

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Fr Chris Gorton

The Pope is the successor of Peter, and we're going to enter the Holy Door at Saint Peters and go towards Peters tomb. So now we're actually moving towards the Holy Door, Jesus said. I am the way the truth and the life, he said. I am the door when we walk through these doors, we're entering into a deeper relationship with Christ on our Pilgrim journey on this Earth.

Ehi

Seeing St Peter鈥檚 Basilica today has been amazing. I've been here once before, but I haven't explored it as in as much depth as I have now, and especially when we were downstairs where the popes of the past have been buried. You just feel the history of the Church and it just makes me wonder. It makes me feel like a part of it, like I'm here now where people have been in the past, who set up and who started the Church and who spread it around the world. And hopefully I can play just a little part in that as well.

Fr Chris Gorton

We're now in Saint Peters Square for the opening mass for this Jubilee for Young People. As you can probably hear, there are now thousands upon thousands of young people, very exciting atmosphere. They're enjoying meeting each other. They're singing, they're dancing, they're swapping different memorabilia from all around the world. There's flags waving, there's images of Christ, there's images of Our Lady, there's people singing hymns, there's people saying prayers, all gathering together for this opening Mass.

Pope Leo XIV

(Address at the Welcome Mass of the Jubilee of Young People)

Fr Chris Gorton

And we've got the Pope himself, and there'll be bishops and Cardinals from around the world.

Pope Leo XIV

Jesus tells us 鈥淵ou are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.鈥�

Ashley

We've just got a new pope and this is the first youth pilgrimage that he has held and we've been privileged to be blessed with the fact that we can say that we are some of the first youths to go on a pilgrimage with the new Pope Leo and I don't think I'll ever get an experience like this again so I'm really going to treasure it.

Veronique

Having the opportunity to be so close to the Pope at the opening mass and all the various different experiences have been, a big part of how great this experience has been.

The Jubilee Prayer

The Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven,

may the faith you have given us

in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,

and the flame of charity enkindled

in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,

reawaken in us the blessed hope

for the coming of your Kingdom.

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May your grace transform us

into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.

May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos

in the sure expectation

of a new heaven and a new earth,

when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,

your glory will shine eternally.

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May the grace of the Jubilee

reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,

a yearning for the treasures of heaven.

May that same grace spread

the joy and peace of our Redeemer

throughout the earth.

To you our God, eternally blessed,

be glory and praise for ever.

Amen

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Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

MUSIC - Lord I Lift Your Name performed by AMC Gospel Choir

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Fr Chris Gorton

Our pilgrimage ends on the outskirts of Rome. We're here in our Tor Vergata, a wide open space where we spent the night, along with one million other pilgrims.

Joseph

I thought that the atmosphere was electric. Obviously, there was everyone playing music and singing and dancing and it felt really nice to see a lot of young people worshipping God all at the same place, at the same time, for the same reason.

Ashley

I've been to Lisbon and I didn't think that I'd be able to get that same feeling again and to go again and feel exactly the same thing and just feel that buzz and that electricity and that excitement and honestly, that faithfulness. You could see it. You could feel it in the air about how many people not only wanted to be here, but truly believe in what we're here for and why it's so important that we came to the Jubilee Year this year.

Veronique

One thing that always surprises me is that going to a place where so many other young people feel the same, experience the same, and are there for the same reasons.听 That's always something that's really surprising to me. It's a feeling that I can't get used to. There's an element of stillness as well, even though there's a lot going on. There were moments of silence where there's millions of people there and we were all together. In that silence, all together for the same reason. So, it is quite an extraordinary experience.

Joseph

I think it changed my mind set on what I'm able to do as a person. It was my first pilgrimage ever, so it was really interesting to see how much I could put myself through in the glory of God and it was very nice, obviously, to go with my sisters. This time and be with them on a journey and be with other young people on a journey, all to worship Christ. It did really change my view on how much people can serve Christ in different ways, and how much people venerate him and their singing and their dancing.

Veronique

This is my third pilgrimage, so I thought, will I get anything different out of it than I have before? And I think for me, one thing that I really do appreciate is being surrounded by other people of faith who are also my age. I think sometimes growing up, you don't really always have the opportunity to really be around people that really believe what we believe, and it's not often that you get that opportunity. So, it's always really nice to have other people that are like minded in their faith and how and how they practise their faith.

Ehi

Well, I think it was marvellous. It was special. It's something that you don't really get to experience often. You see so many Catholics drawn to worship and embrace it in their own ways. You see some sing, some dance, some sit around, some just go out to talk, to send messages to people. But we're all there for Jesus and we're all there because we've been called to this pilgrimage and we've come out now with mass this morning, refreshed at the end of our pilgrimage.

And as I go back home now, I pray that we as young people, will be able to stay strong in our faith and to grow in our lives and to enjoy it because faith is a gift, and I believe it should be enjoyed and it should be sought out and so I'll do that.

Fr Chris Gorton

May God the Father share his love with you. May the light of Christ his son guide you on the way and may the Holy Spirit fill your heart. And may almighty God bless you all The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

MUSIC

PILGRIMS OF HOPE

MUSIC: FRANCESCO MENEGHELLO

ORIGINAL TEXT: PIERANGELO SEQUERI

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: ANDREW WADSWORTH

CHOIR OF THE BASILICA OF THE NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, WASHINGTON,

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